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New book explains why the Catholic Church has always opposed the sin of usury

In a new book titled ‘Something For Nothing,’ author David Hunt breaks down the pernicious, and practically ubiquitous, rise of usury in our modern culture, and why the Catholic Church always stood against the sinful and destructive practice of interest-making lending

by Frank Wright

“Radix malorum est cupiditas,” reads the first letter of St. Paul to Timothy as translated in St. Jerome’s Vulgate. The full quote, often translated as “the love of money is the root of all evil,” is a theme renewed in this latest account of financial wickedness from Os Justi Press.

The book, like the memorable quote, delivers far more on examination than is offered at first glance. In Something For Nothing, author David Hunt gives the reader a whirlwind tour of Catholic teaching, Roman Law, Aristotelian logic and the pronouncements of past popes to show precisely how the treasure of the Church lies not only in the salvation of souls, but in the power of its teaching to deliver us from evil today.

The evil here, of course, is usury – commonly understood in the modern world as the charging of interest on loans. Hunt shows how and why this is not a total understanding of the sin of demanding “something for nothing,” with an analysis so complete and clear as to commend him as a future minister of finance for a Catholic state.

Yet his book has an explanatory power which reaches far beyond its subject. Though Hunt’s excellent formation in the writings of St. Thomas Aquinas lends his work the authority of an expert, its subject is rendered in a readable and digestible progression from the beginnings of the concept of usury to its present end.

If you read it, you will emerge from the experience with a better grasp of how the social reality you inhabit has been created, establishing obvious injustice and disorder as the basis of the new world order. In a startling conclusion, he reveals that the condition of modern man under usury is that of a slave. Careful to show his work, his answers are all the more arresting as they also happen to be true.

Hunt begins by noting the significance of the difference between things. His point is initially about goods which are consumed by use (like wine and food) and those which are not (money). This determines whether it is just or not to charge for them for having been used. In the modern world it is said to be just to apply a charge for the mere use of money – a price – whilst the sum initially loaned is also returned in full. This is the something for nothing of the title – that the money made in interest is gained by no fair exchange, and with no loss to the lender.

Here Hunt’s subject provides an illustration of the disordered spirit of our age.

The noting of basic differences between things said to be the same is the basis of the undermining of our reality generally. Hunt’s book will arm the reader with the Catholic formation to combat this assault on the real, and on the natural order ordained by God. At a time of civilizational crisis, Hunt’s is a book which demonstrates that the Catholic Church has the answers.

It is the sort of book which teaches you how to think better about everything by examining one thing, and as such is a treasure in itself. Brief, at only 78 pages, it is sandwiched by a helpful glossary at the front, and informative appendices at the back, including the import of Roman law, the philosophy of Aristotle, the Summa of St. Thomas Aquinas, the Council of Vienne, and those of Popes Callistus III, Leo X, Pius V, Innocent XI, and Benedict XIV.

This sound basis in Catholic doctrine is partnered with a keen eye for the competing explanations of the counterfeit culture of the 20th century. Hunt’s treatment of British economist J.M. Keynes provides on page 40 one of the most succinct summaries of the crisis of our times.

Top of Form

Bottom of Form

Keynes not only acknowledged but legitimized the wickedness of usury in a wider context of complete moral inversion, saying in 1963, “For at least another hundred years we must pretend to ourselves and to every one that fair is foul and foul is fair; for foul is useful and fair is not. Avarice and usury and precaution must be our gods for a little longer still.”

Keynes was quoting Macbeth here, a fable of cupidity in which ambition and lust for power corrupts the natural order completely. Murder and madness are the result. Keynes was speaking in defense of the construction of a new liberal order, backed by useful “avarice and usury.”

We are sixty years into his century, and the result has been the production of a similar and predictable tragedy in our entire way of life.

Hunt demonstrates that the Church teaches it is unjust to charge for non-existent things. This could also apply to the promises of Liberal Utopianism more generally. From the “barren metal” of Aristotle and the excellent arguments of Hilaire Belloc, Hunt displays that the tradition of the Church has ample treasure to restore our civilization from the ruin caused by these reckless dreamers, which he notes has fallen victim to a simple fascination with novelty.

Hunt shows the poverty of the modern notion that “old” means “redundant,” and new always “improved,” against the charge that tradition can be discarded because it was of its time. He gives short shrift to the objection, made by libertarians and their Austrian economist heroes, that the rejection of usury was simply a mediaeval relic for which we moderns have no use. This is the same tactic used by philosophers more generally, as Hunt is aware, to get around the problem of Aquinas.

We have this new thing now, is the general idea. We have no need of this invincible wisdom we cannot counter. Hunt shows how this neophilia is simply a means of recasting old vices as refreshing innovations. The vice here that is made virtuous is not only the love of money, but the lengths to which men will go to make these new things seem a necessity. Here, of course, the work becomes a critique of the counterfeit culture intended to replace that founded by the Catholic Church.

St. Jerome’s original Latin, from the letter of St. Paul to Timothy, gives a more complete understanding of the nature of this particular evil.

“Radix enim omnium malorum est cupiditas quam quidam appetentes erraverunt a fide et inseruerunt se doloribus multis,” or “The root of all evil is cupidity, and men in pursuit of their appetite for greed have abandoned the faith, piercing themselves with many evils.”

Cupidity is the desire “for goods of any kind” – except the Good, which is of course God. Hunt’s book is a manual for those who wish to be delivered from the evil which animates our times.

In a system which replaces everything with nothing through commodified desire, it is vital to understand the financial crime which powers it.

Usury has bankrolled and normalized the creation of this counterfeit culture, depriving not only your cash, but the rest of your life of genuine value. To read Hunt’s brief and illuminating book is to examine the root and not merely the fruit of the counter-civilizational experiment we inhabit.

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Congress advances constitutional reform to put National Guard under military control

López Obrador sostiene que la Guardia Nacional debe estar bajo el control de los militares para evitar la corrupción y garantizar el profesionalismo de la fuerza. --López Obrador argues that the National Guard needs to be under the control of the military to prevent corruption and guarantee the force’s professionalism. (Margarito Pérez Retana/Cuartoscuro)

by Mexico News Daily

Lawmakers in Mexico’s lower house of Congress approved on Thursday a constitutional reform bill that seeks to place the National Guard (GN) under military control.

The bill will now be considered by the Senate, where the ruling Morena party and its allies are in a strong position to pass the reform proposal.

After a debate that lasted 16 hours, 362 deputies voted in favor of the GN reform proposal while 133 opposed it.

The two-thirds majority required to approve constitutional bills (334 votes) was easily reached.

A supermajority of deputies also approved the bill en lo particular — i.e. after the consideration of its individual articles.

The most controversial aspect of the bill is the provision to place the GN under the control of the National Defense Ministry (Sedena).

However, the bill seeks to modify a total of 12 articles of the Mexican Constitution. Among its aims are to define the GN as a professional public security force that is part of the military but whose members have police training, and to empower it to conduct investigations under the direction of the Federal Attorney General’s Office.

The GN was created by the current federal government as a civilian security force. It effectively replaced the Federal Police, which was disbanded in 2019.

In late 2022, the Congress approved a bill backed by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador that modified four secondary laws and paved the way for the GN to be placed under the control of the army.

However, the Supreme Court ruled in April 2023 that the transfer of control over the National Guard from the civilian Security Ministry to Sedena was unconstitutional, a decision that angered the president.

López Obrador, who argues that the National Guard needs to be under the control of the military to prevent corruption and guarantee the force’s professionalism, subsequently prepared a constitutional bill to once again give Sedena responsibility for the security force his administration created.

Opposition parties, government critics and some human rights organizations pointed to the transfer of control over the National Guard to the army in 2022 as another example of the militarization of Mexico that they say has occurred during the current government. Human Rights Watch has warned that the government’s militarized security policy risks facilitating abuses by security forces while failing to reduce violent crime.

Morena, the Labor Party (PT) and the Ecological Green Party of Mexico (PVEM) have a two-thirds majority in the Chamber of Deputies, allowing them to pass constitutional bills without the support of opposition lawmakers.

The allied parties are just one vote short of a supermajority in the Senate, but it appears likely that they will be able to reach the required threshold to pass the GN reform, as was the case last week with the controversial judicial reform proposal, which is now law.

The National Guard bill could be passed in the Senate as soon as next week, López Obrador’s final full week in office before Claudia Sheinbaum is sworn in as president on Oct. 1.

The GN reform debate in the lower house

Deputy Leonel Godoy, Morena’s deputy leader in the Chamber of Deputies, said that the constitutional bill makes it clear that the National Guard will have “military discipline” but a “police function.”

He stressed that any military personnel who become members of the GN “have the obligation” to first undergo police training.

Morena Deputy Dolores Padierna Luna asserted that the reform proposal will lead to the “rebirth of the National Guard as an institution of military origin,” while PT Deputy Pedro Vázquez said that the bill will enable the security force to pacify the country.

Opposition lawmakers argued that the transfer of responsibility for the GN to Sedena would only increase the militarization of Mexico.

National Action Party (PAN) Deputy Germán Martínez Cázares railed against President López Obrador, who has relied heavily on the military, using it for public security, infrastructure construction and a wide range of other tasks.

“No to militarization,” he said, adding that López Obrador has failed to bring peace to Mexico “as he promised.”

Martínez pointed out that there have been more murders during the current six-year term of government than during the presidencies of Enrique Peña Nieto (2012-18) and Felipe Calderón (2006-12).

López Obrador’s presidency has been “a six-year period of death, a six-year period of blood and a six-year period of militarization,” he said.

PAN Deputies Agustín Rodríguez and Miguel Ángel Monraz, and other opposition deputies, questioned why Morena lawmakers supported the militarization of public security now when they previously opposed it.

Before becoming president, López Obrador himself was opposed to the use of the armed forces for public security tasks.

“What a short memory [they have]” said Monraz.

Citizens Movement (MC) party deputies unfurled a giant banner in the Chamber of Deputies that read: “Mexico with justice and peace. No to militarization.”

They also placed signs on their seats that read: “We want peace, not militarization.”

With reports from El Financiero, Milenio, La Jornada and Reforma.

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Homeless students can sleep safely in their cars at this California college. Other campuses say no

Brad Butterfield hace una pausa después de revisar la parte superior de su RV en busca de fugas en Arcata el 24 de agosto de 2024. Vivió en su vehículo en el campus de la universidad hasta que se les prohibió a los estudiantes hacerlo en el otoño de 2023. Brad Butterfield pauses after checking the top of his RV for leaks in Arcata on Aug. 24, 2024. He lived in his vehicle on campus at the university until being prohibited students from doing so in the fall of 2023. Photo by Alexandra Hootnick for CalMatters.

Failed legislative bills have attempted to create safe parking programs for students to sleep in their cars on California campuses while awaiting housing. Meanwhile, Long Beach City College allows homeless students to park overnight

by Briana Mendez-Padilla

September 18, 2024 – Pink hues adorn the horizon as the sun rises on a nondescript parking lot at Long Beach City College. The lot is quiet but not empty, with the same gray asphalt and slightly faded white lines as any other one on campus. But from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m., it is much more than a place to park.

The lot is a designated area for Long Beach City College’s Safe Parking Program, an initiative from the college’s Basic Needs Center that offers safe overnight parking for students and connects them to resources like showers and Wi-Fi.  The program was created to address a particular student demographic: homeless students living in their cars.

A report from the Community College League of California found that 2 out of 3 of the state’s community college students struggle to meet their basic needs and almost 3 out of 5 are housing insecure.

To help these students, multiple legislative measures have tried to create safe parking options similar to Long Beach City College’s. The most recent effort was Assembly Bill 1818. Introduced by Assemblymember Corey Jackson early this year, the bill would have required the California Community College and California State University systems to create pilot programs to provide safe overnight parking for students living in their cars.

“Parking lot homeless programs are a best practice that’s been used throughout the nation; churches have done it, cities have done it, it’s time for colleges to step up and do it too,” Jackson said.

The bill was killed in the appropriations committee on Aug. 16, but would have required the California State University to select five campuses to participate in the pilot program; the California Community College chancellor would have had to select 20. The pilot program would have lasted through 2028.

The appropriations committee, which assesses the financial viability of a bill, estimated establishing pilot programs across the Cal State system would cost around $500,000 as well as an additional $2.25 million in annual costs. For the California Community Colleges, the committee estimated between $91,500 and $112,00 in one-time costs and $10 million to $13 million in annual costs for the duration of the program.

Justin Mendez, coordinator of Long Beach City College’s Basic Needs Program, oversees the safe parking program and said those estimates sound high, although he acknowledges that costs will vary from campus to campus. Long Beach City College has been able to fund their program for less than the committee’s estimated costs by working collaboratively with other departments and using existing contracts.

While the bill had garnered support from organizations like the California Faculty Association and the Student Senate for California Community Colleges, several community college districts and the California State University system opposed it. Some of their concerns include liability risk and cost. They also argue that providing secure overnight parking is not a permanent solution.

etitia Clark, chief communications officer for the South Orange County Community College District, said the district has been investing in programs that support basic needs, including housing, as well as exploring building housing on campus as part of their facilities master plan.

“We don’t want any mandates or anything that would take away from that, and especially with an alternative that we actually don’t think is safe and really provides a good quality of life for our students,” Clark said.

Mendez at Long Beach City College acknowledges that overnight parking is not a housing solution.

“We’re not in the understanding that providing our students a safe place to park is providing them housing,” Mendez said, adding that the program is just one of the many resources available for students facing housing insecurity. However, overnight parking provides an immediate safe space while students are connected to longer term housing.

Providing holistic support

Started in 2021, the program has evolved over the years. The lot is now located next to the college’s campus safety building, which has allowed Long Beach City College to cut down on the nearly $500,000 they spent the first two years hiring an outside security company. Students have access to the bathroom in the campus safety building throughout the night and can access the locker room showers from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. at the nearby school stadium.

Being next to the campus safety building means overnight security officers and parking employees periodically check in on the lot as part of their routine rounds. Mendez said that despite there not being 24/7 surveillance there haven’t been any safety issues.

The lot has 15 parking spots reserved for safe parking participants from 8 p.m. to 7 a.m. although the program can have around 30 folks enrolled at a time. Mendez said they rarely have issues with capacity because students use the resource to varying degrees — some enroll as a backup because they are at risk of losing their housing, others may only need a night or two while they wait to relocate.

Students in the Safe Parking Program need to be enrolled in the primary terms of fall and spring. However, they can continue using the program during summer and winter without being enrolled during those terms. They must also be independent; service animals are allowed but students can’t be living in their vehicle with family or have dependents.

These eligibility requirements have evolved as Mendez and his team assess what is realistic and better serves students. Originally, the program required students to have their vehicles registered and an up-to-date license but now that is something the college assists them with.

Once enrolled in the program, students receive a welcome packet, sign a liability release form and are connected with a case manager to find long-term housing, whether that be through one of the college’s community partners or elsewhere.

For the 2022-23 academic year, the program had a total of 24 students. Twelve of them found transitional or permanent housing. For fall 2023, 21 students enrolled in the program, two obtained permanent housing and 19 of them continued into spring 2024.

The community has also been supportive of the program. Mendez said that since it started, the program receives donations of blankets, gift cards, hygiene kits and other necessities.

Elliot Stern, the president of Saddleback College, spoke against AB 1818 during a Senate committee hearing, arguing that colleges need to get students out of their cars and into their basic needs centers so their needs can be “addressed holistically.”

At Long Beach City College, students access the parking program through the basic needs center and its online request form. What began as a COVID-19 emergency aid application has continued to be a useful one-stop-shop application for students seeking help.

“For all of our basic needs efforts, we always take a wide scope and try to cast the widest net we can,” Mendez said.

The survey asks whether students are facing housing insecurity, which could mean they are struggling to pay rent or have to move frequently, or if they are homelessness, meaning they don’t have a permanent place to live. If they answer yes to either, the survey then asks if they’re sleeping in their vehicle, couch surfing, staying in hotels or borrowing a room.

Through this data, the Basic Needs team can directly connect students with specific resources. For students who self-identify as living in their cars, the outreach coordinator then refers them to the Safe Parking Program.

When students aren’t allowed to park

AB 1818 was inspired by the experiences of students attending campuses without overnight parking. The bill originated as a response to Cal Poly Humboldt evicting students living in their vehicles.

On Oct. 25, 2023, Cal Poly Humboldt students received a mass announcement stating that the university would begin enforcing a parking policy it had previously overlooked and would be evicting students who were found sleeping in their vehicles overnight.

One of those students was Caleb Chen, a second-year public sociology graduate student. He applied to Humboldt in late June of last year and knew finding housing would be difficult. After doing some research, he learned about the university’s alternative living community and figured it would be feasible to live out of his van.

Chen was in the graduate lounge with a friend when they both got the email.

“Oh, the jig is up,” his friend told him.

The eviction announcement said allowing students to sleep in their cars was “unsanitary” and “unsafe”  — terminology that not only made students feel dehumanized but also something they considered inaccurate.

Brad Butterfield, president of the Alternative Living Club, a school club created by Humboldt students living in their cars to form a community and advocate for establishing a mail service, said the administration brought up similar sanitation concerns when they pitched the idea of a safe parking program on campus.

“We don’t need, nor ever asked for, bathrooms, showers or security,” said Butterfield, a journalism senior. “All we need is a place to park overnight.”

Butterfield lives in an RV, which has a built-in bathroom. He has a membership at a local gym and showers there. For students without RV’s, Chen said there still are bathrooms on campus that are open 24/7 and that most undergraduate students shower in the school gym.

“It’s really difficult to be pretty much told that you can’t exist,” Butterfield said. “We weren’t causing any harm. We all kept a really low profile.”

Butterfield said that at the time of the evictions, 25 to 30 students were living in their cars. Some lived in discrete vehicles like SUVs while others lived in RVs like him.

The email announcement stated that campus officers had received calls from members of the community “expressing fear and frustration about the situation.”

“There were never any issues between the vehicle dwellers on campus,” Butterfield said. “Not between us as a community and certainly not between us and the campus community at large.”

According to Butterfield, it was quite the contrary. He said some students had told him they felt safer knowing there were students in the parking lot at night who could call the police if anyone was trying to break into their car — something the group had done in the past.

The stigma around homelessness is something that Mendez from Long Beach City College has been fighting since the beginning of the safe parking program. He said the staff have a student-centered approach and are mindful of treating students with dignity.

“There’s all of these negative stereotypes about what a homeless person is instead of realizing that these college students are coming here to be successful. They’re coming here to work on their long-term goals and help themselves and their families,” Mendez said. “I think that level of dignity has made the biggest impact beyond the actual connection of housing partners.”

The mischaracterization of homeless students is what ended a 2019 bill that was also advocating for safe parking. Assembly Bill 302 was introduced by Assemblymember Marc Berman, and would have required community college campuses to allow overnight access to parking, bathroom and shower facilities for students living in their cars.

The bill made it to the appropriations committee where it underwent significant amendments that Berman said “watered down the bill” and “treated homeless community college students like pedophiles” by placing restrictions for campuses within a certain distance from elementary schools.

“It was really unfortunate and damaging in terms of stigmatizing homeless students. And so, because of a lot of those reasons, we decided to stop the bill from moving forward and work on other solutions to the issue,” Berman said. He later drafted Assembly Bill 132, which successfully passed and required every California Community College to establish a basic needs center and hire a basic needs coordinator.

In 2020, another student tried starting a pilot overnight parking program at his campus. Grayson Peters, now a UCLA alumni, was a founder of UCLA Safe Parking and came across similar arguments from his administration at the time.

He said UCLA administrators told him allowing students to live in their cars and park overnight was “fundamentally unsafe.” Peters said that while he agrees with the statement, the alternative can be even more dangerous for students.

“Students are actively sleeping on unsecured city streets a few blocks over, without the benefit of university guards or university facilities or the student gym nearby to go to the restroom in the middle of the night if they need to,” Peters said. “The status quo is more unsafe than the solution we’re proposing.”

Butterfield and his partner have experienced that risk. After being evicted, they tried to find safe places to park around the city. But Arcata has a 72-hour parking limit, which meant they had to relocate every three days. Butterfield said the Arcata police have harassed them multiple times.

“It feels like we’re constantly trying to outrun the police because they keep wanting us to move from here to there to here to there,” Butterfield said.

Cal State Humboldt referred students to a safe parking program run by a local nonprofit organization, but that program ended this summer.

Stephanie Goldman, the associate director of the Student Senate for California Community Colleges, said data shows that a student’s proximity to campus can affect their academic outcomes.

“[Safe parking] is not only giving them a safer option, but an option that is conducive to them reaching their goals,” Goldman said.

Such was the case for Chen in Humboldt, who, before the eviction, was doing much better academically because the commute time was so short and he didn’t have to stress about where he would spend the night.

Chen spent the remainder of the semester and the following one at a local public parking lot. He now lives in a studio apartment he can afford because of loans and scholarships and is splitting rent with his partner who moved up to Humboldt.

“When that announcement happened in November, it was just a wrench into a lot of people’s livelihoods let alone academic success,” Chen said.

Jackson said he was disappointed that the bill was “mischaracterized” by the educational systems as encouraging students to live in their cars as opposed to more effective interventions. Moving forward, now that the legislature is on a break until January, Jackson said he will  be scheduling a meeting with the Cal State and California Community Colleges chancellors to see if “there’s ways that we can still get this done.” If not, he will be reintroducing the bill next year.

The Student Senate for the Community Colleges said they will continue to advocate for student basics needs including securing funding for dorms.

Jetaun Stevens, a senior staff attorney with the nonprofit law firm Public Advocates, said she hopes the bill returns with a greater coalition behind it. She said that while AB 1818 was mostly sponsored by the author, working with advocacy organizations who can co-sponsor the bill would help bring forward student stories and amplify the potential impact of the bill.

“Oftentimes it does take [bills] that are somewhat controversial quite a few times before they make it across the finish line,” Stevens said.

Briana Mendez-Padilla is a fellow with the College Journalism Network, a collaboration between CalMatters and student journalists from across California. CalMatters higher education coverage is supported by a grant from the College Futures Foundation.

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Fall energy bills will include a $55.17 California climate credit for PG&E electric customers

Corporate news

California Cap-and-Trade program continues to reduce the state’s dependence on fossil fuels and benefits PG&E customers

Oakland, Calif. — In October, millions of eligible residential and small business customers will receive the California Climate Credit on their Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) electric bill. Customers do not need to do anything to receive the credit.

Residential households with an active electric account will receive a $55.17 electricity credit, the same amount they received in the spring. The semi-annual electricity credit was first delivered in April, in addition to an $85.46 annual natural gas credit for residential customers with a natural gas account. Total combined consumption credits on customer bills in 2024 total $195.80.

Eligible small business customers will receive the electricity credit in October, bringing their total bill credits for 2024 to $110.34.

“This credit is a win-win for our customers. The California Climate Credit helps lower customers’ energy bills and reduces our state’s greenhouse gas emissions,” said Vincent Davis, PG&E’s senior vice president of Customer Experience.

The California Climate Credit is part of the state’s efforts to combat climate change, and is distributed by PG&E to customers as directed by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC). The California Climate Credit is a direct result of the state’s nation-leading Cap-and-Trade Program, which requires polluters to pay for climate pollution. The bill credit is designed to help utility customers transition to a more sustainable future.

In addition to the California Climate Credit, customers are encouraged to explore other ways to save energy, reduce monthly bill costs, and help build a sustainable future.

Assistance Programs for Income-Eligible Households

– California Alternate Rates for Energy (CARE): Provides a monthly discount of 20 percent or more on gas and electric bills.

– Family Electric Rate Assistance (FERA): Provides an 18 percent monthly discount on electricity for households with three or more people.

– Energy Savings Assistance (ESA): Provides energy-saving upgrades at no charge.

– Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP): A federally funded and state-supervised assistance program that provides a one-time payment of up to $1,000 on past-due bills to help low-income households pay for heating or cooling their homes.

Other programs include Medical Baseline which offers a lower monthly rate for customers with certain medical conditions.

To learn more ways to manage your monthly bills and prepare your home for colder temperatures, visit: Save Energy and Money.

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The Peralta Community College District (PCCD) calling for RFQ for Bond Program Management Services (Measure G)

Request for Qualifications/Proposals

The Peralta Community College District (PCCD) is calling for sealed qualification /proposal packages from qualified firms to provide Bond Program Management Services (Measure G) – (RFQ-P No. 24-25/02) to be delivered to the Purchasing Department by October 11, 2024 at 12PM, at PCCD Current Solicitations – Vendor Registry

The RFQ/P process is designed to select a qualified firm to assist in establishing the overall organizational structure of the Bond program, developing appropriate delivery methods for each project, procuring one or more design, project and construction management firms to manage the design and on-site construction activity of each project.  The firm will also help in coordination and communication with each of the campuses, assisting the District with the procurement of appropriate consultants and contractors, and otherwise generally perform the scope of basic services outlined in this RFQ/P.

Copies of the pre-proposal documents may be obtained by clicking on the following link: PCCD Current Solicitations – Vendor Registry or, by contacting the Peralta Community College District, Purchasing Department, 501 5th Avenue, Oakland, California, 94606, Phone (510) 466-7225, Office Hours: 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

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PUBLIC NOTICE: CITY OF REDWOOD CITY CANDIDATES FOR PUBLIC OFFICE

CITY OF REDWOOD CITY
CANDIDATES FOR PUBLIC OFFICE

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the following persons have been nominated for the offices appointed to be filled at the General Municipal Election to be held in the City of Redwood City on Tuesday, November 5, 2024.

List of nominees in order of appearance on the ballot according to the random alphabetical drawing by the Secretary of State (E.C. 13112).

City Council Member, District 1
1 seat for a 4-year term:
Jeff Gee

City Council Member, District 3
1 seat for a 4-year term:
Lissette Espinoza Garnica
Isabella Chu

City Council Member, District 4
1 seat for a 4-year term:
Elmer Martinez Saballos

City Council Member, District 7
1 seat for a 4-year term:
Diana Reddy
Marcella Padilla

NOTICE OF MEASURES TO BE BALLOTTED
NOTICE IS HEREBY FURTHER GIVEN that the following measure will be voted on at the General Municipal Election to be held in the City of Redwood City on Tuesday, November 5, 2024.
MEASURE BB
City of Redwood City Business License Tax Measure: Shall the measure maintain local city services, such as: maintaining the 911 emergency response/neighborhood police patrols; fixing potholes, repairing streets and sidewalks, keeping firefighters and paramedics on duty and storm drains to prevent flooding; modernizing the City of Redwood City business license tax base and per-employee fees between $10 and $250, with the higher fee for larger businesses, for general government use, as outlined in the ordinance, providing approximately $7,000,000 annually, until finalized by voters, will it be adopted?
Yes ________ No _________
Yessika Castro, CMC, CPMC City Clerk/Elections Officer Posted: September 20, 2024 – The Reporter

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San Francisco Open Studios Celebrates 50th Anniversary

ArtSpan Artist Durba Sen.

by Magdy Zara

Sponsored by ArtSpan, this year’s annual production of San Francisco Open Studios celebrates its 50th consecutive edition, bringing art to the entire Bay Area community.

For years, ArtSpan’s SF Open Studios has connected local artists with San Francisco residents and visitors, giving testimony to the enduring power of art to unite communities and to the spirit of the artists who have been at the forefront of shaping San Francisco’s cultural identity.

The opening toast was held on Sept. 19 and the exhibitions will be open to the public through October 13 of this year.

For the past five decades, ArtSpan’s SF Open Studios (SFOS) has invited the public to visit the creative spaces of local artists to see where their magic happens and to purchase works directly from the creators.

SFOS’s expansive exhibition features hundreds of works in a variety of media, encouraging art lovers to plan their studio visits on weekends.

Immerse yourself in the creativity of the San Francisco Bay Area and purchase pieces knowing that your patronage directly supports the region’s art ecosystem.

SF Open Studios is completely free to attend.

SOMArts Cultural Center gallery hours are: Thursdays 3-7 p.m.; Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays 12 noon-7 p.m., 934 Brannan St. (between 8th and 9th Streets) San Francisco.

For more information on programming and exhibition guides, visit www.artspan.org info@artspan.org https://sfosguide.com/weekends

Jenny y los Mexicanos Showcase Their Talent

The Jenny y los Mexicanos group, known for masterfully combining jazz, flamenco, acoustic folk, and rockabilly, will be performing in concert soon to provide their audience with a unique musical adventure.

Jenny y los Mexicanos will give a demonstration of a fantastic fusion of rhythms, ranging from danceable and comforting songs to sensitive moments of timeless musical expression.

The event will be this Sunday, Sept. 22, from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. at Freight & Salvage, located at 2020 Addison Street, Berkeley.

The play Riding the Currents of the Wild Wind

The Latin American Art and Culture Movement (MACLA) presents the play Riding the Currents of the Wild Wind, which is a theatrical concert that combines narration and live music, based directly on stories and songs from the epic novel Their Dogs Came with Them, by Helena María Viramontes.

Jenny y Los Mexicanos.

The adaptation of this play was led by musical director Martha González (of the GRAMMY Award-winning band Quetzal) together with Alpert Award-winning artist Virginia Grise and directed by Kendra Ware.

The performance showcases an eclectic mix of Mexican and Afro-Cuban rhythms, jazz, funk, rock and gospel, performed by Martha González.

Riding the Currents of the Wild Wind delves into themes of gentrification, identity and the search for one’s place in the world.

This is a unique opportunity to witness the fusion of literature and music.

The performances will take place on Sept. 27, 28 and 29 of this year, on Fridays and Saturdays starting at 7:30 p.m., while on Sunday the 29th it will be after 2:30 p.m., in the MACLA theater at 510 South 1st Street, San José. Tickets range from $10 to $45.

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Central Americans and Mexicans celebrated their independence on September 15 with patriotic fervor

by Zurellys Villegas

September 15 is a date of great importance for Central Americans, and the 16th for Mexicans, who celebrated the 203rd and 209th anniversaries of their independence from Spain. This historic event, which took place over almost a decade, marked the beginning of a new era for Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Costa Rica and Nicaragua, and Mexico.

The Central American independence process began with several failed attempts, such as the conspiracy of the Salvadoran priests José Matías Delgado and Nicolás Aguilar in 1811. However, it was in 1821 when independence was achieved, thanks to the signing of the Act of Independence of Central America. This document, signed by representatives of the provinces of Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Costa Rica, put an end to Spanish rule in the region.

Mexico celebrates another year of its independence with the traditional Grito de Dolores, which marked the beginning of the war of independence from the Spanish colony 214 years ago.

The Grito de Dolores occurred in Dolores, Mexico, on September 16, 1810, when the Roman Catholic priest Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla rang the bell of his church and gave the call to arms that triggered the Mexican War of Independence.

With patriotic fervor, Central Americans celebrate their Independence

Every year, Central Americans celebrate their independence with patriotic fervor. Parades, concerts, fairs and cultural activities fill the streets of the main cities. National colors, traditional music and typical cuisine are the protagonists of these festivities. Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Costa Rica and Nicaragua join together to celebrate the date with public concerts, beauty contests and parades with floats, military displays and dancers in traditional dress, among other traditions and customs.

The independence of Central America was only the first step in a long road towards the consolidation of sovereign nations. Throughout their history, Central American countries have faced numerous challenges, such as internal conflicts, foreign interventions and social inequalities. However, the spirit of independence remains alive in the hearts of Central Americans, who continue to fight to build more just and equitable societies.

For these people, commemorating the independence of Central America and Mexico is essential to strengthen national identity and transmit to new generations the values ​​of freedom, democracy and solidarity. By remembering the past, Central Americans and Mexicans are inspired to build a better future for their countries.

The Consulate General of Mexico in San Francisco held the official commemorative ceremony for the 214th Anniversary of Mexico’s Independence on September 15 at the Civic Center Plaza in the city of San Francisco, where Mexican Consul Ana Luisa Vallejo Barba, accompanied by San Francisco Mayor London Breed, celebrated the culture and history of Mexico in style.

Vallejo Barba gave the traditional “Grito de Independencia” with the mayor of San Francisco as guest of honor. The “Grito” ceremony took place on Sunday, September 15 at 8 p.m. sharp, however, there was a street party that started at 4 p.m. in the Civic Center plaza.

Hispanic Heritage Month is an opportunity to reflect on your past, celebrate your roots and build a more inclusive and equitable future for all.

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Feeding the unhoused in LA.: Searching for best practices

by Suzanne Potter, Producer

Wednesday, 9/18/24  – California is home to more than 181,000 people who are unhoused, with 75,000 in Los Angeles alone, so the Los Angeles Food Policy Council will host a panel discussion today on options for getting healthy food to the unhoused population.

The event will feature firsthand accounts from people experiencing homelessness, plus experts from local agencies and nonprofits.

Alba Velásquez, executive director of the council, said the discussion is aimed at finding solutions.

“We want to center our conversation around what sorts of policies need to be in place in order to make systemic change that would allow more, healthier food options to be easily accessible to some of our most vulnerable communities,” Velásquez explained.

She noted the panel will hear from community members with lived experience and will explore a more dignified approach to providing food, favoring healthier, more thoughtful choices, instead of defaulting to cheap, convenient options like instant noodles or pasta.

Velásquez suggested policymakers look for ways to increase acceptance of electronic benefits transfer at local restaurants for hot meals.

“How do we make hot meals easier to access for folks that don’t have refrigeration units to store, or don’t even have a secure place to stay, because they’re constantly moving?” Velásquez asked.

The panel, which is open to the public, will take place at 10 a.m. today at the Huffington Center in Koreatown. Speakers include the host of a podcast called “We the unhoused,” as well as representatives from the Los Angeles Community Action Network, the Los Angeles City Controller’s office, the Los Angeles Homeless Service Authority and the Skid Row People’s Market.

Survey: Only 53 percent of high school students think voting is important

About 53 percent of high school students think voting is important, according to a survey out today from the nonprofit Youth Truth.

Researchers polled 115,000 American high school students, including Californians, on civic engagement and found 60 percent believe “helping others is important,” but only 44 percent feel confident in their ability to make a difference.

Jennifer de Forest, interim vice president of Youth Truth, said 30 percent of students translate their intentions into meaningful action.

“They say, ‘We don’t know where to start,'” de Forest explained. “And that’s the best-case scenario, because for many students, they’ve actually internalized the message that the system is broken, and that what they have to say doesn’t matter.”

Latino students report feeling the most disempowered. Only 26 percent have taken civic action and just 46 percent believe voting is important. Many students said they are more focused on academic success and college acceptance. But they say extracurriculars like scouting, band and sports do make them feel more civic-minded.

Kate Snow, coordinator of school climate for the Davis Joint Unified School District, which brought diverse student groups together for a youth empowerment workshop, said districts need to build young people’s confidence in the importance of their voices.

“There’s a link between how schools are engaging students and helping students see their own power and use their power, with how they see and use it in the public arena,” Snow pointed out.

The report encouraged schools to promote the importance of voting and students getting involved in their community.

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Petro attributes the attack on a military base to the ELN

Gustavo Petro

So far, the attack against a military installation in the Colombian department of Arauca has left a balance of two dead soldiers and 27 wounded

by the cable services of El Reportero

The president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, announced this Tuesday what would be a drastic decision on the peace talks with the guerrilla of the National Liberation Army (ELN), after the attack on a military base located in Puerto Jordán, in the department of Arauca, El Tiempo reports.

During the inauguration of the magistrate of the Superior Council of the Judiciary, Claudia Expósito, the Colombian president blamed the ELN, with whom he assured that they were “talking about peace”, of perpetrating the attack against the military installation with a tractor-trailer loaded with explosives. So far, the attack left a balance of two dead soldiers and 27 wounded.

Petro also compared the recent attack with a similar one that took place in January 2019 at the Police Cadet School in Bogotá, which left 20 dead and 68 injured and caused the Colombian government to end the talks it was holding with the ELN.

For his part, the Minister of the Interior, Juan Fernando Cristo, said that this latest attack is an indication that the members of the guerrilla group “are definitely not interested in peace in Colombia.” “What the State has to do is pursue those authors of the attack and we are in a clear decision [to] fight against those violent people,” said Cristo, adding that “the ELN did not understand the message […] it has lost a historic opportunity to negotiate peace.”

Peace negotiations between Colombian authorities and the ELN have been at a standstill for around five months, while the ceasefire between the two sides ended on Aug. 3. According to local media, attacks by the ELN in the department of Arauca have increased in an attempt to force the Colombian government to accede to the guerrilla organization’s demands.

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